Of course, to avoid any conflict, this list excludes any books for which I was the editor, all of which have my total recommendation. These books are: Grunt of the Minotaur by Robin Richardson, Love Figures by Sam Cheuk, and Dance, Monster! by Stan Rogal.

Now, these lists are always somewhat arbitrary, and if pressed on another day, in another mood, I might have made an argument for other books; Gabe Foreman, Linda Besner, Helen Guri, Phil Hall, Leigh Nash, Matt Rader, Leigh Kotsilidis and many other people published books in the last 12 months that I absolutely loved. 2011 was one of the strongest years for Canadian Poetry in a long time, with so many wonderful books it is impossible for short lists to do them all justice.

I'm looking forward to 2012, with more great Canadian poetry books on the way!